Hey entrepreneur friend!

Could you use a little encouragement this week?
I’ve been bee-boping around in life and online and have some uplifting finds for you. In a nutshell this is what I’ve learned and have been reminded of from the following folks this week:

From Melissa Camara Wilkins…

After a morning of spying too many perfectly styled Instagram photos I’m grateful Melissa tells it like it is. Art, life, and business is MESSY. And that’s okay. There’s room for the mess, the revisions, the rough drafts, the ideas that never take flight.When Your Life Art is Messy

From Sarah J. Bray…

If there’s part of your heart that wants to be recognized online for the great work you’re doing or if you’ve received some unexpected attention online after a post went viral, Sarah’s words will ground you. They’ll keep you from striving toward the unimportant and reroute you back to your craft. They’ll point you to what matters most as you grow your business.Attention is Not Our Currency

From Justina Blakeney…

I was in the mood to be inspired and picked up Justina’s book. I’m a pretty simple lady who enjoys pastels, white walls, and minimal decoration. The images in this book stirred my imagination and filled up my inspiration tank because they were vastly different from what I generally surround myself with. Sparks of creativity are bleeding into my work because of it. Try something different this week. Whether it’s a book, music, a special dinner, add in variety.The New Bohemians

From Brooke Snow…

We need to do “all the things” on social media, right? Post Facebook updates, tweet, Instagram the heck out of our process, share savvy articles on Linked In, participate endlessly by adding to the conversation in Facebook groups. Yikes. Some declare that as the means to success online. Brooke’s here to tell us there’s a different way. There’s a better way and it starts with knowing that opportunities will find us when we’re doing what we love and making a difference in our field. Little of that has to do with incessant social media use. I’m into any post that tells me to relax and do more of what I love.Entrepreneurship VS. Social Media

From Gretchen Rubin (via Jess Lively)…

This podcast covers a topic I haven’t thought about before: your personality will define how you master habits. It’s chalked full of ideas for setting up your habits in a way that works for you personally and for your personality type. I’ve always been excellent at certain habits but others seemed insurmountable. Now I know why… and what to do about it.Mastering Habits Based on Your Personality

From James Clear…

Certain activities in my life and business are on the to-do list but are often neglected. You too? This week I learned a technique called “temptation bundling” in order to boost willpower and stop procrastination. Perhaps you’ll only allow yourself a shower if you’ve worked out. Or you can only listen to your favorite podcast while you’re at the gym. Maybe you can only listen to that new album when you’re making products for your business. “You are essentially bundling behaviors you are tempted to do with behaviors that you should do, but often neglect.”How to Stop Procrastinating and Boost Your Willpower by Using “Temptation Bundling”

Let’s end with this quote.

“The simple act of paying positive attention to people has a great deal to do with productivity.” – Tom Peters

Thank you! I love Gretchen Rubin’s work. I never knew about this before. I am an Upholder, according to her quiz, and I certainly get “much satisfaction out of smoothly working through my to-do list.” Hopefully as I continue to read and watch her content, I can also learn how to chill out when Life gets in the way of my lists on a daily basis. Prioritize, etc.

Hi Katy! :) Fun to see you here too. Isn’t Gretchen’s work fascinating? It’s just another key to help me grow, sounds like for you too. I took her quiz and tied between Upholder/Obliger. I just checked her book out from the library; I’ll let you know if I uncover more tips that would be useful to us. Hope she can provide some awesome “chill out” advice for you!